


Lonely and Strange

by amethystinesaint



Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Female Guardian (Destiny) - Freeform, Gen, Ghost (Destiny) - Freeform, maybe? - Freeform, possible romance in the future?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-10
Updated: 2019-11-11
Packaged: 2021-01-26 15:16:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21376210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amethystinesaint/pseuds/amethystinesaint
Summary: Athena Xul, reluctant Hunter Vanguard and aspiring explorer, discovers her biggest find in the depths of Europa.





	1. Chapter 1

In the days before the Whirlwind, they knew something was coming. Even if they didn't want to admit it, it was clear the end approached. Increased Darkness activity in the system, dissidents in the great Houses growing spiteful against their Lightbearers. In hindsight, it was easy to say she knew it'd happen, but the truth was that she always did.

In days long ago, Khaviss was of the House of Stone. Even now, she wore their banner, though not many were still alive to remember it. When the Great Machine left them, she followed her distraught brothers and sisters race across the stars in search of it, but when they soon turned on each other, she knew their time was done. The Light had dimmed, and there was no choice but to face it. The Eliksni simply weren't worthy. 

Her Ghost, who she had long since forgotten their name, died soon after to a stray Hive Shredder bolt. It was difficult not to be careless; she was so used to immortality. Now there was just a dull ache in the pit of her gut, the constant threat of final death haunting every step. For a while, her life was its own whirlwind of traveling the stars, selling her services as a true Eliksni warrior, and watching what became of her own civilization. In the beginning, she mourned, but she had long since made peace with it. The Great Machine had found them wanting, she told herself. She could only hope the next ones were worthy. 

Seeing it again, in the cradle of another civilization no less, couldn't help but hurt her. Though she was later ashamed to admit it, she fought to take it back. Being so close to it again, she could feel the Light calling back to her, and she wanted nothing more than to return to its service. In her heart, though, she knew it would never come to be. It had to have had a reason for leaving them, and even now she'd stay loyal to it. So, she moved on. 

\---

Athena Xul, absentee Hunter Vanguard, hated her job. As was custom, she had "won" her position on a dare. She couldn't stand having to file reports and send scouts on their missions, let alone guide others. She was the scout, and she belonged out there, exploring unknown planets and forgotten sectors. Her fellow Vanguard didn't see it the same way, but any Hunter could appreciate the call of the stars. Her specialty was exploring the places nobody else would, if because nobody still lived to know about them, or if they were smart enough to avoid them. The thrill of the unknown was stronger than even the Light coursing through her. 

"Where did you say you are, again?" 

"Neptune. Ghost found a big labyrinth of tunnels down under the ice, and I thought it'd make an interesting afternoon."

As she landed on the surface, the bitter cold stung through her armor, and for a moment, she contemplated going back to her ship. 

"You're in Jovian territory? Athena…" the voice on the other side of the line groaned.

"Calm down, Zavala, I'll be safe. God, you're such a typical Titan, you know? No wonder you're their Vanguard." she laughed to herself, before realizing he had already cut the line halfway through her sentence. Rolling her eyes, she brought out her Ghost with a flick of the wrist.

"We're standing right on top of it. Looks like there's a cave entrance half a mile to the North. You ready?" Zainab, her Ghost asked excitedly. 

Athena nodded and scanned the horizon, nothing to see but glaciers and mounds of ice in every direction. She already couldn't wait to leave this place, but she couldn't deny it was mysterious. Miles beneath the surface, she finally found the telltale rot of the Hive, and suddenly she knew why these tunnels were here. It was strange, though, she couldn’t remember ever hearing of a Hive presence on Europa. She couldn't decide if the absence of them was disconcerting or comforting. The air was thick with the smell of decay, and sharp with hoarfrost. In the reflections of the ice, her keen eyes could see a figure following them, and her hand never strayed far from her gun.

She came to a large chamber, seemingly a dead end. Looking at the scans of the planet, however, she could clearly see it should've continued on. Athena had encountered enough Fallen to recognize their cloaking tech at this point.

"Zainab, would you?" 

"Already on it." she chirped, a flash of light coursing through the tunnel and breaking the cloak. They stepped through, finding what looked like Fallen banners, barrels of Ether, and dozens of screens. Athena exchanged a confused look with her Ghost before continuing on. On a table she found a Shock Blade; it wasn't crude and dull like the ones she'd grown accustomed to, it was sleek and almost noble, in a way. As she reached for it a metal arm stopped her, along with the familiar rumble of a Fallen's breathing mask. 

"Guardian. You need not fear, I won't fight you."

Athena turned to face the strangest Fallen she'd seen in all of her lives. She was clad in mournful grey armor adorned with deep blue banners, but she didn't look like a Wolf, or Winter. One of her arms seemed to be regrowing, and another was of intricate silver armor. Her eyes couldn't help but be drawn to the string of Ghost fragments that hung at her side. The Fallen backed away, raising three arms and a singed stub of a fourth in defense. 

"Who… the hell are you?" Athena yelped, fumbling her hand cannon out of its holster and bringing it to their throat. 

"I should ask you the same. I am Khaviss of House Stone. Why have you come to my home?" The two tall horns of her helmet towering over her made for a very threatening sight. 

"Excuse me, but- shouldn't you be trying to kill me right now?" Athena looked to her side to silently plead Zainab for help, before realizing she had long since transmatted away. 

Khaviss laughed, crossing her arms. "I know what the Light is capable of. I know better. You have nothing to fear." Athena wondered if Khaviss knew the irony in her words. 

"I guess I've seen stranger…" she shrugged. "What are you doing here, and uh, what's with the getup?" she asked, gesturing to her armor and the Ghost fragments that hung off her side. 

"This has been my home since the Whirlwind." Khaviss sighed and held the Ghost fragments in her hands. "I do not remember her name, but this was my-"

"Wait, the Whirlwind? You're a Guardian?" Zainab asked excitedly, appearing in a flash and buzzed around Khaviss.

"I was." she nodded, looking down at the pieces of her old Ghost.

"Damn. Of all the things I've seen…" Athena sighed, shaking her head. "Well, it was nice meeting you and all, but I should probably get going." Athena wanted nothing more than to leave, and she knew better than to try to hide her discomfort.

"You should." Khaviss nodded. "Maybe we'll meet again." she mused, before vanishing entirely. Athena wasted no time making her way back to her ship, away from the freezing cold.

"Okay. First off, what the hell was that?" Athena asked as she pulled off her helmet, leaning back into the seat of her ship. 

"I can hardly believe it either!" Zainab beamed. "If she was telling the truth, that could… change a lot, to say the least."

"I have a feeling she might not appreciate us telling the Vanguard about her. Maybe we'll just hold on to that bit in the scouting report."

"Hmmm… That's true…" 

"Well," Athena laughed, holding Zainab in her hand. "Where to next? Maybe we'll find a friendly Cabal."


	2. Chapter 2

"You know, I feel kinda bad for leaving so abruptly." Zainab said ashamedly, trailing behind Athena as she walked around the Tower. 

"Yeah… I guess you're right. It was just so weird, though. I mean, since when are Fallen friendly?" Athena sighed.

"Which is why it's so incredible! She obviously isn't like all the other Fallen. I mean, House Stone? I haven't even heard of that one. It's too great of an opportunity to pass up!" Zainab giddily swirled around her. 

"You really feel like going back to Europa?" Athena sneered, gently catching her in her hand. "The cold does awful things to your shell." She paused, and let out a sigh. "I guess it wouldn't hurt. If she wanted to kill me, she already would've." 

"Exactly."

Even though the rest of the Vanguard were used to Athena's wanderlust, expeditions into Jovian territory were a bit suspicious, even for her. It was a problem for the future, she decided, she hadn't yet found a situation she couldn't talk herself out of. After getting some repairs from Banshee and slogging through strike reports, she was already on her way to Europa.

"God, I'll never get used to this cold." Athena groaned, immediately shivering as she left her ship. She'd already memorized the way through the tunnels, and before long she stood before the illusory wall. Sure enough, when the cloak dissipated, Khaviss was on the other side, curled up in a hole in the wall while reading a Fallen datapad. 

"You again," Khaviss greeted her, sprawling out of the wall to stand before the Awoken. "What do you want?" 

"Well hello to you too!" Athena laughed. "It's uh, not every day I see one of your kind that isn't trying to murder me. And uh," she continued, bringing out Zainab from beneath her cloak, "she had some questions to ask you."

"More questions? Fine." she hissed, though not out of anger. Athena took a seat on a table, and Zainab instantly began scanning her again. 

"You said you were from House… Stone, right? I've never heard of that one." Zainab asked.

"Yes. I may be the last, though. The rest were lost when our Kell faced the Maw." Khaviss answered, watching Zainab flutter about her. 

It was Athena's turn to question her. "Y'know, I don't think I've ever seen a Fallen that talks as well as you." she asked, a bit suspicious. 

"You think I wouldn't learn the language of our usurpers?" she said, settling back into her hole in the wall. "No offense, of course." she added, laughing. Now that Athena was here and not as quite afraid for her life, she looked around more intently. She'd never noticed just how big Khaviss was, taller than any Captain she'd seen. They must not have rationed Ether back then, she thought to herself. Another thing she couldn't help but notice was the abrupt end of Hive corruption where the cloak began. 

"Odd place for a Fallen like you to coop up." she said, gesturing to the rot.

Khaviss laughed again. "It's true, the Hive haven't spread here. Not many dare to venture through Hive tunnels. I thought it would make for a good… deterrence." Her eyes still followed Zainab as she continued to buzz around her. 

"Why did you decide to stay here, though? Why not live with the other Fallen?" Zainab asked, finally coming to a stop, floating in front of her. 

Khaviss sighed, shifting herself and leaning back. "They've changed. They aren't my people, not anymore. I don't think the Houses would accept me, anyway." Zainab hummed, returning to her Guardian. "Are you done with your questions?" Khaviss sighed, staring down at them. 

"I've got nothing." Athena shrugged. She had plenty more questions, and she was sure Zainab did too, but she felt a bit bad for interrogating her. 

"Good." Khaviss continued, clambering back down and squatted before Athena. Even in that position, she was still several feet taller than her, and Athena didn't think it'd ever stop being intimidating. "You still haven't told me who you are, Guardian." she said, almost accusatory. 

"You're right!" Athena laughed, pulling at the collar of her cloak. "Sorry. To be honest, I was a bit, uh, terrified last time. Name's Athena, Vanguard of the Tower. Ghost's name is Zainab." When Khaviss said nothing and merely stared at her, she wasn't sure whether or not to keep talking. "I dunno if you know what the Vanguard is, but that's not really important. I mostly just explore the system, lost sectors, abandoned space, you name it. Combat isn't really my thing." 

Khaviss' carved stone mask betrayed no emotion as she stared into her. Eventually she grunted in acknowledgment, and nodded. "I know what your Vanguard is. You're one of them? Strange you do not fight."

"Yeah, I am. It's kinda overrated, to be honest, but I haven't found a sucker to take the Dare yet." Athena lamented, resting her chin on her hand. Khaviss tilted her head, giving her a confused look. "Ah, sorry. It's- it's a Guardian thing. Well, Tower Guardian I mean. Sorry." Athena explained. 

"I know you meant no offense." Khaviss responded, not looking at her, but a flashing datapad. "Excuse me," she said, standing up to retrieve her Shock Blade as well as a strange looking rifle, "I have some visitors I must attend to. You may go." She gestured towards the end of the tunnel with her metal arm, and looked up from the datapad to stare at her. 

"Got it." Athena nodded, taking her cue to leave. Khaviss seemed oddly insistent for her to leave, and she wasn't about to find out why. As she made her way to the surface, the distant sounds of Fallen hissing and gunshots made it clear. If any others saw a Lightbearer in a place like this, it would raise many questions. With a rumble as her ship soared into orbit, she made her way back to the Tower. The unfortunate part of heading all the way to Europa was that it was a long, long ride. 

At the Tower, Athena was back to sorting through reports and falling asleep from the boredom. Meeting Khaviss was exactly why she loved exploring; she'd never have dreamed of anything like this. If they knew, the rest of the Vanguard would probably have her killed out of fear. Gods, she wanted out, but she didn't feel like dying for it. She sighed as Vaj, her fellow Titan Vanguard entered the Hall, no doubt about to question her. 

"Back to Europa, huh?" he asked, sitting down next to her. 

"Yep. Found some interesting stuff there actually, mostly from the old cities. Before you ask: no, I didn't find any guns." He laughed, looking over reports with her as well. 

Athena had been keeping tabs on another Hunter as of late, as the most ideal candidate to replace her. The more she thought about it, the more she realized how perfect her plan was.

"Hey, Andal, I know you've been antsy since, well... the whole Ahamkara hunt thing. I've got a Dare for you, but it's something a bit different." 

"I'm listening." He said, arms crossed and suspicious. She _ knew _ he'd take the bait. __

_ _"I know you like your stories. Let's play a game, I'm gonna tell you three stories. Two are fake, one's true. You get it. Guess wrong, and you're the new Vanguard." she grinned. Easy, she thought to herself. _ _

_ _Sure enough, by the next day, there was a new Vanguard._ _

**Author's Note:**

> title is from the uncle acid and the deadbeats song of the same name, highly recommended listening


End file.
